


And I've Never Been To Georgia Since

by hailtothequeenkneeltothecrown



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: AU, M/M, im actually really proud of this, its just cute fluff, prompt, short but cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 16:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9243083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailtothequeenkneeltothecrown/pseuds/hailtothequeenkneeltothecrown
Summary: When Jeremy gets invited to a party during his first week of university, he didn't quite expect to make the friends he did. What he also didn't expect was to learn the truth behind one of his dumbest childhood memories.You kissed me on the playground the day before you moved away in the 4th grade and now your dorm is right across the hall from mine (prompt from dailyau on tumblr; originally submitted to them by fullhomosapien)





	

Jeremy’s frosh week had gone incredibly well. Having gotten to meet his roommate before the year had begun really made a difference. Trevor Collins, the tall, lanky pale boy from Indianapolis that was here to study fucking engineering. Jeremy, however, was here to get a degree in animation, or as the school liked to call it, the “CAET” program. Jeremy learned that meant Center for Arts and Entertainment Technologies when doing more research. It covered all the bases he wanted; Music development, game development, coding, and most importantly animation support and a large focus on how it all blended together. Trevor found this incredibly interesting when they started talking on Facebook- That’s how they got to know each other before their frosh week had happened. Trevor had gotten his name from an email from their residence operators, and from there it was history. 

Throughout the week, they had been given tours of the campus’, gone to many events that included a little too much alcohol for some, and even some information seminars on their respective programs. Jeremy didn’t understand the engineering one, and Trevor loved the designs they showed during the CAET one. They had made quick friends with both sets of their next-door neighbours, a lanky, long-haired, hippie looking kid by the name of Matt Bragg and his roommate, Andy Blanchard. They had spent the second night of their week there playing Halo in Matt and Andy’s room, and the third night the four of them had met their other next door neighbours. One was a British student here on an arts degree like Jeremy, Gavin was his name. The other one, Michael, was only here because his parents offered to pay for his first two years of tuition, so of course he wasn’t going to pass that up. He was enrolled in a bunch of courses ranging from arts to business, just for good measure. 

The six of them ended up at a party on the second last night before classes started, and oh boy, was it something interesting. It was held in one of the larger Sorority houses where a few guys that Michael had met were staying. They invited him and any of his friends to come over that night, and when they saw how crowded the outside of the house was with drunk people enjoying themselves, and the loud music coming from the house, they knew they were in the right place. It was a large, victorian style building with large columns holding up the second floor balcony. There were fairy lights and tiki torches scattered around the outside, as the door was revolving with people going in and out. Michael lead the way through to the kitchen where he found the two he had been talking to all week. 

One, who looked a little older than them, turned to Michael with a wide grin. “Michael! Kid, there you are, we were wondering if you were going to show up!” He said, clasping Michael around the shoulders. Michael laughed as he introduced his friends to the two guys. The one with his arm around Michael introduced himself as Geoff, and the other who had red hair and glasses was Jack. They were both Texas natives, the boys learned quickly, and they were both in their final year of their degrees. 

“C’mon, let’s go to the basement. It’s a bit quieter and there’s definitely more booze down there. A few of our other friends are there as well that I’m sure you guys will get on with.” Jack said as he led the group to the stairs, idle chatter coming from them as they went. Jack had been right though; The basement was much quieter, filled with a corner of people smoking up with a bong, and another group sitting near one of the TV’s with some sort of game system on. There was a fridge to one side, and a few open cases of beer laying next to them. 

“Do you guys always party this hard?” Trevor asked, a grin on his lips as Geoff gave him a lazy smile back.

“Only on special occassion… Back to school… Thanksgiving… Halloween… The weekends…” He shrugged it off as the group laughed, as Geoff opened up the fridge. “No one is legal here, right?” 

The group all shook their heads, as Geoff laughed more, “Well, fuck that then. Have at it, but if you get sick, make sure it’s in the bathroom.” He motioned to a door to the right of the room. “We’ll be in and out all night if you wanna talk or whatever, or if you need anything at all.”

“You’re a real host, Geoff!” Michael complimented, as he grabbed a beer from one of the open cases. Geoff took a fake bow as Jack laughed, shaking his head. Geoff headed for the stairs as Jack smiled back at them.

“Make yourselves at home, the couches are free if you want them. If you can’t find any of us, though, the third of us old guys, Ryan, is over there.” Jack warned, pointing to one of the men sitting at the game system. They assumed it was the man with sandy hair, his shoulders shaking as he laughed at something in the game. “He doesn’t live with us here, but we’re all really good friends. He’s sober, so you’ll be in good hands regardless.”

“Thanks again, Jack!” Jeremy said, a large smile on his features as Jack headed for the stairs as well. Trevor and Matt had already taken up on the couches, as Andy followed suit. Gavin grabbed a drink, offering one to Jeremy as well. He happily took it, as Michael sat on the floor in front of the couches.

It didn’t take many drinks or stories to get into sharing funny childhood stories with each other. From one about Gavin setting his friend Dan’s pants on fire, to Michael’s dog stories, it was a great laugh. They had gone around the circle, telling deadly tales or down right stupid stories until they got to Jeremy. He was laughing hard, until he calmed down and shook his head.

“So, so okay. I’m from Boston, right? Born and raised, all that jazz, but for about two years of my young little life I lived and went to school in Atlanta. I dunno why, I don’t really remember why- but it was grades 3 and 4, and I remember this kid that was.. I dunno, I think he was older than me? He wasn’t in my class, I know that much. But, anyway, we would play on the playground together and stuff, he had pretty cool comic books and stuff.” Jeremy shrugged, and grinned, “And so, Mom had told me we were moving back to Boston on like, a Monday. Well, we were moving that Saturday. So, me and this kid, I forget his name though… It was a J name like mine, maybe James or Jason or something. But, so I tell this kid on Friday that we’re moving tomorrow and he leans over and he kisses me right there on the lips.” Jeremy starts laughing a bit as Gavin starts giggling himself, “And so then like, the next day we up and moved away and I never saw the kid again. Like, that was my first kiss and oops, I’ll never love you because I’ve run away!” He said, dramatically flinging his hand over his heart. The guys burst out laughing around him as he did so as well, his body racked with tremors. “It’s stuck with me ever fucking since and I still die about it when I think about it!” He said.

“Damn dude, was he at least good looking? Did he buy you a milk at lunch?” Michael asked, laughing loudly as he then took another drink of his beer. 

“NAH! He didn’t even ask for my hand!” Jeremy was being so overdramatic that Gavin had fallen over from his laughter, that when he hit the floor, the guys around the Xbox had turned to make sure he was okay. The man that Jack had pointed out as Ryan came over, a smile on his features as their laughter calmed down now. Gavin rolled onto his side as Ryan offered him a hand, to which he happily took.

“Thanks, lad!” He said as he dusted himself off, and Ryan smiled.

“Not a problem, you guys sounded like you were having fun but the loud thud was a little concerning.” He said, as Jeremy glanced at him briefly. He saw how he fit in with Geoff and Jack easily, with his sandy hair and blue eyes on semi-tanned skin. 

“Well, he didn’t die, and that’s what matters.” Andy said, smacking Gavin’s shoulder as Gavin made a noise, much like a bird. This sent a few of them into laughter again, as Ryan smiled down at the group.

“I suppose that is what matters most. You’re the guys Geoff and Jack invited?”

“Yeah! I ran into them my first day here, they helped me find my way around.” Michael explained, opening his fourth beer of the night now as Ryan noddded. 

“Cool, cool. Well, I’m Ryan if they didn’t tell you. I live in Blanchard Hall, just across campus, if you guys need a walk home or anything tonight.” He offered, as Matt raised a brow.

“Really? We all live in Blanchard hall too!” He exclaimed, as it was Ryan’s turn to raise a brow.

“Really now? Well, I guess I’ll walk all your asses home then.” He laughed, running a hand through his hair, before he looked at Jeremy. “Also, your story was pretty funny. You really left that kid hanging, I suppose.” 

Jeremy paused, looking at Ryan as he spoke to him. Something tugged in Jeremy’s stomach, as if he felt like he recognized the man before him somehow. He brushed it off and grinned at him, “I mean, I haven’t been back to Georgia since then. Maybe he’s still waiting for me!” He laughed as Ryan shook his head and smiled at him again. He said his farewell and that if they did need that walk back to the dorms, to come get him. 

They didn’t have to get Ryan to walk them back to the dorm that night, but Jeremy had wished that he had. The man had struck him funny, that after he had gone back to his game, he couldn’t stop glancing over at Ryan. His broad shoulders, the way his sandy hair fell. He heard Ryan’s laugh throughout the night and it was heavenly deep, but also soft at the same time. Jeremy left the party with Trevor supported on his shoulder, hoping that maybe Ryan would run into them on the way out. He didn’t sadly, but he knew that Ryan was somewhere within the same building as them all.   
_____________________

The first week of classes had been a dream. Syllabus days, easy readings, and late night gaming filled the second floor of Blanchard hall. Geoff and Jack made regular appearances on the floor now, depending on which room was hosting that night. They had discovered that Ryan lived across the hall from them, in a single room. Michael was so jealous that he didn’t have to share, and Ryan had shrugged it off with a “get your form in earlier next year”. Gavin was a little offended. Ryan joined them when he wasn’t busy planning out his semester, and it was always in one of the younger men’s rooms. He never invited them to his own, for some reason.

Jeremy was glad to have already established a friend group, even if some were graduating this year. Jack seemed really cool, into movies and everything about creating them- He was a film major, with an english minor. Jack had spent at least an hour teaching Jeremy about different scripts and methods of storytelling, which Jeremy enjoyed. Jeremy shared back his own plans and ideas for things. Geoff always talked to Jeremy about music, and life on the east coast as he had never been any further upwards than Georgia and Florida. He grew closer with Gavin and Michael, as well, as he and Michael shared quite a few similar stories from their up-bringings of New Jersey and Boston. Gavin liked to make bets with Jeremy already, and Jeremy had made a grand total of 25 dollars so far. 

Ryan, however, was in one of Jeremy’s classes. It was just a simple history 101 class. Jeremy was on his phone, waiting for the class to start on the second day for that class. It was Friday, and it was just around lunchtime. He was hungry and a little too tired to deal with this today. He considered skipping it, until he saw Ryan come in and sit near the front. He raised a brow, as the classroom started filling up quickly. 

Turns out, Ryan was the teaching assistant for that class. What a nerd! Jeremy remembered thinking, before realizing that Ryan had told them he was doing a history and theatre double major. It made a bit more sense to Jeremy, but he was still a nerd in his mind. His thought process was interrupted by the professor, who introduced himself once again for the students who missed the first class.

“And joining us today is my TA for the year, Mr. James Haywood!” The professor announced, as Jeremy raised a brow. Ryan went by James? That’s weird. The professor called Ryan to the front, who smiled and waved to the class. “Why don’t you tell them a little bit about yourself?” 

Ryan nodded, “Well, first of all you can all call me Ryan. James is my first name, but I’ve gone by Ryan since the 7th grade. Um, I’m a double history and theatre major in my third year here, as I’m originally from Atlanta, Georgia.” He explained all of this with the finesse Jeremy recognized from their conversations explaining different histories in regards to Assassin's Creed. Jeremy was a little curious about the whole first name business, and would have to ask Ryan about it after class. 

Ryan took his seat, and the professor launched into his lecture about pre-history immediately. 

~

“Ryan!” Jeremy called, walking quickly to catch up to the older junior ahead of him. Ryan turned, and upon seeing Jeremy, slowed down a bit. 

“Hey! Were you in that class?” Ryan asked, as Jeremy nodded. “So you heard my awkward spiel about myself then.” 

Jeremy laughed, “Yeah, I was going to ask you… Your first name is James?” Ryan nodded in response, “Why do you go by Ryan, though?” 

The older boy shrugged, “It was just a thing that happened in middle school. James sounded too nerdy, so my parents were like ‘I guess we can change that on the forms’ and from there, history.” He laughed. Jeremy nodded, fiddling with the straps on his backpack. He didn’t have any more classes that day, as he looked up at Ryan. 

“And you’re from Atlanta?” 

“Yup. Born and raised, y'know.” He smiled back at Jeremy, who nodded. 

“I spent a few years there as a kid..” he said, as Ryan rounded the corner to leave the building. Jeremy held the door as Ryan grinned. 

“Yeah, isn’t that where that kid kissed you and then you left him all alone?” Ryan asked, a mischievous hint to his small grin. Jeremy nodded, a laugh escaping his lips as they headed across the warm campus grounds together. 

“Yeah, sadly. You know, I’d love to know what happened with that kid after I left. It’s just this thing that comes up every once and awhile, wandering into my mind.” Jeremy said, glancing at Ryan as they grew closer to their residence buildings. Ryan just nodded and laughed quietly, as this caused them to fall into a comfortable silence. It wasn’t until they were standing outside of their rooms that Ryan spoke as he unlocked his door.

“Did you wanna come hang out? Maybe I can help you with history if you have any issues?” He offered. Jeremy was taken aback as none of them had been invited into Ryan’s room to hang out before. He assumed Geoff and Jack had been, but this was… odd. Jeremy raised a brow and took a moment to think.

“Let me go grab my laptop charger and another of my textbooks and I’ll be over?” He asked. Ryan happily obliged as he leaned in the doorway to Jeremy’s room. Trevor as sitting at his desk, mulling over some sort of schematics and a few open textbooks next to him. 

“Are you dying already, Trevor?” Ryan asked, as Jeremy rummaged through some of his stuff. Trevor looked over at Ryan, smiling tiredly, as he gave him a thumbs up. Ryan laughed, as Trevor went back to work.

Once Jeremy had found his things, he closed the door quietly behind them and smiled sympathetically at Ryan, “He’ll probably appreciate that… One of his classes from yesterday already assigned a shit ton of work due by Monday. He’s been like that since I got up, but I made him eat breakfast at least.”

Ryan shook his head, “I can’t imagine that… It’s gotta be a tough program, y’know?” He was looking at Jeremy as he opened the door to his room. He stepped in casually, setting his bag on the small table near the door. It was a simple room; A single bed pushed to one wall, the closet parallel to that. There was a desk next to the closet, with a TV cordoned off to face the bed. There was a couch at the end of the bed, that faced the desk and TV as well. Jeremy raised a brow as he looked at the things hanging on the walls; A few posters from the school, some movie ones and what appeared to be a collage of movie tickets and stubs, with some play ones in there too he guessed. There were clothes scattered on the bed, as Ryan blushed a bit at that and then turned back to Jeremy. “Sorry about the mess.”

Jeremy shook his head as he sat on the couch, while Ryan moved the clothes to their designated locations. He set his bag and stuff down on the floor by his feet, before Ryan closed the door and sat in the desk chair across from Jeremy.

“Damn, I wish I could have a single room like this…” He laughed, as Ryan shook his head, smiling a bit.

“You do, until it gets a bit lonely. At least you have Trevor who’s kind of forced to be your friend.” He pointed out, as Jeremy laughed at that. He watched the older boy roll around on his chair to find the TV remote.

“I guess you’re right on that. I thought we were going to talk history?” Jeremy asked, as Ryan found the remote. He shrugged his shoulders and rolled his way back to the desk. 

“I mean, we can.” Ryan’s tone was suggestive, as he raised a brow at Jeremy, a smile forming at the corners of his lips. “We can talk about our history and how rude it was that you left me on the playground without even kissing me back.” 

Jeremy sat there for a few moments, processing what Ryan had just said to him. He didn’t have history with Ryan. He met the guy a week ago, and now he was saying this. Jeremy didn’t think Ryan could’ve been the child from his younger years. It didn’t make sense. Well, it did, he just had to put it together.

“Ryan.. That doesn’t make any sense…” Jeremy questioned, as Ryan laughed a bit.

“Well, we were both in Atlanta. I would have been in the 6th grade, you were in the 4th grade. I know we went to the playground during the same lunch time because they sent the 1-3rd graders first, then the 4th to 6th graders.”

“Yeah, but Ryan that doesn’t mean anything..” Jeremy felt a little panicked, his heart beat creeping into a faster rate. “I was only there for two years, then I left… It was-”

“It was dumb, absolutely, but 12 year old me didn’t think much of it. Until, you know, you left and I was a little confused but learned from the past.” Ryan laughed, his eyes crinkling at the sides from his laughter. “I’m sorry if this is super awkward, but I kissed you in the fourth grade and now you’re in my dorm, living across from me. It’s not like I could forget the kid that would run around yelling about Monster Trucks with the nice brown eyes.”

Jeremy bit his lip, feeling awkward and like a small child again. He didn’t know how to react to this situation, and how the kid that had kissed him turned out to be hella attractive and conveniently single. “I mean.. I guess that makes sense… But how would you know it was me?” 

Ryan rolled the desk chair in closer so he was sitting in front of Jeremy, eye level with him now. “Maybe it was the jumpstart of your story telling at the party last week… But I hadn’t thought much of this since it happened. Now with your story in the back of my mind…” Ryan shrugged, smiling more. “So, I waited it out to see if it really was this dumb coincidence. And it was…” 

Jeremy watched Ryan as he talked, a swirl of emotions surging through his body. A dumb memory and story he told his friends had come back to bite him in the form of a hot guy, who’s room he was in right now, and he was pretty sure he was going to get a kiss. He was excited, worried, and anxious all rolled into one. The butterflies in his stomach turned, and his mind mellowed completely when he felt Ryan’s calloused fingers touch his cheek. He was pulled from his worry to meet Ryan’s baby blue eyes, his fingers gently scratching across Jeremy’s beard. Jeremy leaned in a bit, as he could feel Ryan’s breath on his lips. 

“I promise, it’ll be much more expected and way nicer this time…” Ryan said, eyes full of what Jeremy assumed was excitement, as he laughed at the lame comment. Jeremy pulled one of Ryan’s hands from his cheek to lace his own fingers through. Ryan took that as a yes as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Jeremy’s. The younger man curiously took the moment in, before kissing Ryan back. Gentle, but eager to the warmth and roughness of Ryan’s lips. Ryan wheeled the chair in closer, his fingers wandering over Jeremy’s beard and cheek. Jeremy’s free hand came to brace himself on the desk chair for support as he leaned in to meet Ryan’s lips more eagerly now. Ryan, who responded with a pleased noise, pulled away suddenly. His expression was soft and happy, a little bit of a daze clouding his eyes. “Did it meet the expectations of your 4th grade heartbreaker?”

Jeremy burst into laughter and turned a shade of red as Ryan also laughed. He stood up and pushed the desk chair back to the desk before returning to the couch. He took a seat next to Jeremy, who instantly warmed into the man’s body. Ryan pulled Jeremy’s face back to his own and before Jeremy could say anything, Ryan’s lips were on his again. This time, a little more sloppy with a lot more care to play around. Ryan’s hands with teasing around Jeremy’s hair and neck this time, as Jeremy pulled Ryan closer. He wanted to feel the man’s warm body against his, and as he leaned back, Ryan was forced to join him if he wanted to continue. 

Ryan snaked his lean body over Jeremy’s muscular one, leaning on one elbow with his other hand behind Jeremy’s head, tangling in the red strands of his hair. Jeremy’s hands found Ryan’s shoulders and neck, wrapping around them pleasantly. He felt Ryan’s tongue gently tracing over his bottom lip, and as Jeremy turned a brighter shade of red, he opened his mouth to allow Ryan in to explore. Prodding gently, Ryan took things carefully and slow, as he watched Jeremy’s reactions. Their motions continued like this for over twenty minutes once Jeremy relaxed into it more, causing Ryan to back off a bit as they both enjoyed themselves. 

Jeremy, however, was the first one to pull away. He gave a slight pant before leaning back into the couch as Ryan sat back a bit, grinning down at him.

“You alright?”

“Absolutely. Maybe I’ll have to take another trip to Georgia, just for good measure.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Jeremwood is real! I just crave this pairing a lot, so I took a shot at just them. I think it's quite well, maybe I'll continue this one day but for now it's a oneshot! 
> 
> Enjoy!!!


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